Whew, been a busy few weeks and haven’t managed to blog as much as I want!

Been training clients with a few new ideas that I’ve experimented with, thanks to my test subjects and one has been working extremely well so far and that’s training for speed.

Working for speed and power enhances our fast twitch muscle fibres – these are the ones that create a lean and toned physique, and help build athleticism as well.

They also help you with agility and full body power, an essential if you play any sports.

Now, there’s a lot of ways to develop your speed…

Olympic Lifting. After watching the Olympics in London this has been a form of training I really want to get into! The combination of speed, agility and power is so graceful and lifting heavy weights makes everybody feel quite bad ass 🙂 the only issue is that Olympic lifting is a very technical sport and takes proper instruction to grasp. I’ve been learning simplified modifications and they are a lot of fun!

Sprinting. Looks simple, but actually quite complex to do well. Sprinting isn’t just a faster jog 🙂 The benefits of sprinting include fast, fast fat loss, building toned and well shaped glutes and hamstrings and a turbocharged cardiovascular system. Good sprinting form is hard – accelerating too fast runs the risk of hamstring tears and knee injuries, which is why I recommend that if you want to try, start by doing hill sprints. The incline makes it harder to over accelerate and makes your hamstrings and glutes work harder too. Try sprinting up a hill, then walking back down a few times a week.

Kettlebells. I’ve been lucky that Mr. Fox has been training with kettlebells for years now and he’s made me work out with them too. Apart from the super tough cardiovascular conditioning and the toning effect on every woman’s physique hit list (your butt, inner thighs and shoulders) they are also great for developing athletic ability. Kettlebells work the posterior chain, all the muscles at the back of your body and these muscles are responsible for speed and power.

Medicine Ball Throws. The easiest way to get into speed training, this I use with my clients all the time. They are whole body exercises that are really simple to pick up and do. The great thing about medicine ball throws is that they can be done in any direction imaginable and will develop your body’s ability to twist, turn and change – something useful in everyday life. I’m writing a detailed article on medicine balls so keep an eye on the blog!